Moving...again...

I'm switching over from Blogger to Wordpress, so please update your readers and join me at:

http://lindseyarnold.wordpress.com

I just couldn't resist all the fancy bells and whistles.  :-)

He Died for Our Entertainment

I'm really starting to get excited about this paper for my Religion and the Body class. Rather than just stick with "The Passion of the Christ" (over done!) I'm branching out to do a survey of the crucifixion in several Jesus movies. I'm starting with a 1905 silent film, working my way through "The Greatest Story Ever Told," "Jesus Christ Superstar" (duh.), "Jesus of Nazareth", and a few others in addition to "The Passion." I'm focusing primarily on Jesus' body, how it is dressed, treated, abused, what it looks like...etc... It's something I've never really paid attention to before, and it's fascinating.

My argument right now is that over the years not only has the violence level of Jesus films increased, but Jesus has become more and more super-human. That's not a theological argument, mind you, but rather just a look at the Jesus character. I mean let's face it, Mel Gibson's Jesus would have been dead from blood loss long before he ever carried the cross to Golgotha. But I also haven't seen many of these movies in quite awhile (if ever) so I might change that working hypothesis.

Oh man, I'm totally nerding out. I apologize. Here... here's a picture of a hamster for those of you who are bored with this entry already.
I tried to get Archie to help me with my homework. He decided to try and make a nest out of my wool sweater instead. He's tricky like that.

The difficult thing about being a "Religious Studies" master's student is that I'm not always sure I belong in "Religious Studies." However, I think this is an issue for most people in Religious Studies departments. A lot of what we do, what we're interested in, sort of spans disciplines. Some of us are interested in archaeology, sociology, psychology, history, literature, etc. But we all come together under the umbrella of "religious studies" because what we study has some aspect of "religion" in it... maybe.

So I ask myself: my paper is on film, and while it's religious film, is it religion? Is what I'm doing film studies or is it religious studies? Do I belong in another department?

Perhaps it all comes down to the question of "what is religion really?"
I'll get back to you on that one...

PS: Did you know Christian Bale once played Jesus? I don't know that I'll be watching "Mary, Mother of God" for my paper, but I just might for my own fascination. Is it possible he could rival Willem Dafoe as my favorite? Uh oh...

Jedi Training: Episodes..um...7-15

So as Matt pointed out just a moment ago in the GA office, I've been slacking on my Jedi training blogging.

So, rapid fire, here we go:

Day 7: Take one hour of your time to just totally relax in silence but think of something that makes you smile.
I read a chapter from my favorite book ever: Lamb. If you haven't read it, you should. Heck, I'll buy you a copy.

Day 8: Take a walk for 30 mins clear your head and mind and think of something that makes you smile.
Yeah, I failed.

Day 9: Tell some one you love, that you love them and do so in a meaningful way.
I love my Mommy. She's awesome.

Day 10-12: The basic premise of these 3 days was to make a list of problems, write resolutions to those problems and enact the resolutions.
Matt and I had similar problems, mostly procrastination and school. Lucky Matt, he doesn't have ex-boyfriends who make life miserable...but that's all taken care of now. I think more than any thing we learned how good we are at making lists and fooling ourselves.

Day 13: Make friends with some one new.
Insert *awkward robot* here.

Day 14: Make it your goal not to have any conflict today think of something that makes you smile and keep out of any conflict or argument.
Check.

Day 15: Today try to just drink water from when you wake up till when you go to sleep.
This morning I dragged myself into the GA office contemplating going downstairs to get a cup of coffee. Notsomuch. I'll survive, I'm sure. :-)


So, that's it... our Jedi training up 'til now. Only a few more days until we can officially call ourselves "Apprentice Jedi." I'm still looking for someone who wants to sponsor us for $7 so we can become Padawan. Any takers?


This is why I like going to Toys R Us with Tim, he opens boxes for me and takes pictures while I try on the "Star Wars Force Trainer!"

Signs that graduate school has fried your brain...

I just tried to use my TV remote control to turn the lights in my living room off.

Ow. Thinking hurts.

Jedi Training: Episodes 3,4,5 and 6

My computer is currently...um... indisposed, so I have been quite negligent in my Jedi blogging. My apologies.

First off, let me start this post by saying "I am, in fact, a cheater." Our motto during my second summer at Tawakoni was "If you ain't cheatin' you ain't tryin' hard enough." Having said that...

Day 3: Today try a new food.
This proved to be the most difficult part of Jedi training so far. My parents and any one who's ever had the misfortune of dating me all know that I am BEYOND picky. I've tried pretty much every food that sounds good to me. So the idea of first of all, trying to find a new food in Springfield and then forcing myself to eat it, just didn't seem like a pleasurable endeavor. I know, I know, I'm a hedonist. I know, I know, I'm picky and stuck in my ways. Thanks.

So what did I do? Ohhh I sort of cheated. Dr. Finch returned from Germany and brought back some wonderful Deustch schokolade for me. Yeah, I've had chocolate before but it was German chocolate! That counts...right? Damn.

Day 4: Make it your goal to shake some ones hand today.
Thanks to the swine flu, no one would touch me. I guess the training technically states "make it your goal" so I didn't totally fail on this one.

Day 5: Give someone a compliment.
I never realized just how sarcastic I am 95% of the time in my interactions with other people. Sheesh Lindsey. Matt was gracious enough to allow me to use a compliment from the day before to count for this one. You should try giving out random compliments sometime, it's honestly not easy.

(Speaking of Matt, you should definitely check out his blog. Both the Jedi training and the rest of what he writes are insightful and entertaining)

Day 6: Try to make some one laugh
On a normal day, this would not even make me bat an eye. I secretly delight in forcing customers into polite laughter on a daily basis at the Pier. However, I'm in a mood today. I believe Matt used the term "kill-joy." Needless to say, this may prove a bit of a challenge. You should leave me your best stupid joke in the comments section so maybe I have a fighting chance at this one.

Jedi Training: Day 2

Yesterday was day two of the epic GA Jedi endeavor, and as part of the training Matt and I had to reveal something to someone that they didn't already know about us. Sounds easy enough right?

I sat there racking my brain, trying to think of something to share. The best I could come up with?

Peas. I hate peas.

My parents are probably the only people who know just how much peas disgust me, so I shared that with the other GAs and my Facebook posse.

Immediately I second guessed myself.

Was that enough? Should I have dug down deeper and found something truly meaningful to confess? Do I actually have anything down deep I could confess? Am I really that boring of a person? Peas? PEAS? Gah. Could I think of anything more stupid to say out loud? Come on Lindsey! Fail.

Hmm. I'd better watch my attitude or I'm going to come out of this 21 days a Sith. ;-)

Do or Do Not, There is No Try

I have decided to become a Jedi.

No, really. It's legit.

Today while looking for ways to make my Religion in America lecture more hip and happenin' for the youngsters, I remembered an article that Tim showed me on Consumerist. As it turns out, the founder of the UK Jedi Church (Jedi name: Morda Hehol) has recently become the center of a religious discrimination outcry. I decided to add this story to my lecture, and then fellow graduate assistant Matt and I decided to take it one step further.

Currently, we're in training to obtain the apprentice level of Jedidom (Jediship? Hrmm...). The training spans 21 days, each day there is a different goal to obtain. In order to make it work logistically, Matt and I will be doing our training on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays since that's when we're both in the office. We'll also be posting the goals and our progress, day by day up on the wall above Matt's desk. If you're in the office you should stop by and check it out.

Today's goal was to learn something new. While Matt went the route of opening the paper, I did a random search on Wikipedia and learned that Paul Pate is a former secretary of the state of Iowa. Pretty cool.

You should check out Matt's blog for his perspective on our Jedi training, and just because he's cool. You're also welcome to join us if the Force moves you to do so.

May the Force be with you. Wish us luck!